Painted birds have begun appearing across the worn walls of Wang Tong Village, a quiet corner of Lantau Island in Hong Kong, turning abandoned homes into a trail of murals that spotlight both neglected places and the remarkable journeys of migratory species.
The project was conceived by Dominic Johnson-Hill after an ornithologist neighbor told him about the Amur falcon, which travels from Manchuria and stops in Lantau before continuing across Myanmar, India and Madagascar to South Africa. Johnson-Hill said the story changed how he saw the birds around him, not as permanent residents but as passing visitors.
Inspired, he looked at an empty house beside his own and imagined a red-billed blue magpie stretching across its wall, an idea that grew into what is now known as the Flock Project.
To translate the concept into art, Johnson-Hill brought in British muralist Rob Aspire, widely known as “The Birdman,” who is recognized for detailed and expressive bird paintings. The first mural was followed by more. A year later, Aspire returned to paint seven additional works.
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Each bird was selected to match the surroundings through ecology, appearance or symbolism. A kingfisher appears near a stream where fishing has been banned, while a Swinhoe’s white-eye blends into walls close to trees where its call can still be heard.
Most of the paintings sit on abandoned houses, with one exception on Sunset Peak. There, at 868 meters above sea level, a long-tailed shrike is painted onto the rooftop of a 90-year-old stone home overlooking the mountains.
The project aims to gradually place more of Hong Kong’s native and migratory birds into view, integrating them into overlooked corners of the island as though they have always been part of the landscape.
The murals have started drawing hundreds of visitors, many from the city’s dense urban centre, who walk village trails in search of the painted birds. On weekends, some leave chalk arrows to guide others, turning the paths into a kind of informal treasure hunt. Organisers say building attention and appreciation can be a first step toward conservation.
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Johnson-Hill has also created an online map for visitors and is considering the next phase, which will depend on whether new sites become available and whether conditions allow additional birds to be painted.
As the story suggests, birds come and go, and so do people. Villages may empty out, but their walls remain, now carrying painted birds and the memories they leave behind.